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Iridium GMDSS FCC Order DA-19-1334A1.Pdf Federal Communications Commission DA 19-1334 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) IRIDIUM COMMUNICATIONS, INC. ) WT Docket No. 19-280 ) Petition for Waiver to Permit Use of Iridium ) Service to Meet GMDSS Requirements ) ORDER Adopted: December 26, 2019 Released: December 27, 2019 By the Deputy Chief, Mobility Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau: 1. Introduction. We have before us a petition filed by Iridium Communications, Inc. (Iridium) for waiver of several part 80 rules to permit vessels to select Iridium for the provision of Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) mobile satellite service.1 For the reasons discussed below, we grant the request subject to certain conditions. 2. Background. The GMDSS is “[a]n International Maritime Organization (IMO) worldwide coordinated maritime distress system designed to provide the rapid transfer of distress messages from vessels in distress to units best suited for giving or coordinating assistance.”2 Until recently, Inmarsat, Inc. (Inmarsat) was the sole mobile satellite service operator recognized by the IMO to provide GMDSS mobile satellite service, and the part 80 rules require certain vessels to carry an Inmarsat ship earth station.3 The IMO, however, recently recognized Iridium as a second provider of maritime distress and safety communications within the GMDSS, and amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (Safety Convention) that allow Iridium equipment to be carried in satisfaction of the GMDSS requirements will go into effect on January 1, 2020.4 In addition, the International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO) issued a Letter of Compliance on December 19, 2019, verifying that Iridium is ready to begin providing its GMDSS service. Iridium expects to make GMDSS terminals available to vessel operators in early 2020.5 3. Iridium seeks waivers of part 80 rules that require or reference the use of equipment that communicates with Inmarsat satellites, specify the frequency bands in which Inmarsat satellites operate as the frequencies in which satellite GMDSS service should be provided, and limit GMDSS mobile satellite 1 Petition for Waiver of Certain Part 80 Rules Concerning Iridium’s Provision of GMDSS (filed Sept. 6, 2019) (Petition). 2 47 CFR § 80.5. 3 Amendment of Part 2 of the Commission’s Rules to Allocate Spectrum for Mobile-Satellite Services in the 1530- 1544 MHz and 1626.5-1645.5 MHz Bands, Notice of Proposed Rule Making, 5 FCC Rcd 1255, 1258, para. 27 (1990); Robert M. Franklin, Transferor; Inmarsat, PLC, Transferee, Memorandum Opinion and Order and Declaratory Ruling, 24 FCC Rcd 449, 466, para. 40, n.110 (IB 2009). 4 See Recognition of Maritime Mobile Satellite Services Provided by Iridium Satellite LLC, IMO Maritime Safety Committee Res. MSC.451(99) (adopted May 24, 2018). 5 See Petition at 5. Federal Communications Commission DA 19-1334 operations to areas covered by Inmarsat.6 The waivers it seeks would permit Iridium to provide GMDSS mobile satellite service and permit vessels to select Iridium for the provision of mobile satellite service for which our rules currently specify Inmarsat. Iridium notes that the Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking filed by the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM),7 which recommends, inter alia, that part 80 be amended to replace the references to Inmarsat with provisions permitting vessels to obtain GMDSS mobile satellite service from any IMO-recognized provider.8 Iridium supports that recommendation, but requests waiver relief so that vessels may use Iridium for GMDSS mobile satellite service pending resolution of that proceeding.9 4. Iridium asserts that grant of the requested waivers would serve the public interest “by bringing additional competition to the GMDSS and maritime marketplace and by providing ships with access to new safety of life services—including in areas where no satellite-based GMDSS exists today.”10 Iridium adds that the waivers would not undermine the part 80 rules but would be consistent with their purpose of promoting maritime safety.11 In response to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau’s public notice seeking comment on Iridium’s waiver request, RTCM and Inmarsat filed comments and the United States Coast Guard (Coast Guard), Ligado Networks LLC (Ligado), and Iridium filed reply comments.12 5. Discussion. To obtain a waiver of the Commission's rules, a petitioner must demonstrate either that: (a) the underlying purpose of the rule(s) would not be served or would be frustrated by application to the instant case, and that a grant of the requested waiver would be in the public interest; or (b) in view of unique or unusual factual circumstances of the instant case, application of the rule(s) would be inequitable, unduly burdensome or contrary to the public interest, or the applicant has no reasonable alternative.13 We conclude that Iridium has justified grant of the requested waivers under the first prong of this standard, subject to conditions discussed below. 6. When the Commission created rules to govern domestic deployment and use of the GMDSS, Inmarsat was the sole GMDSS mobile satellite service provider.14 Inmarsat satellite services do not cover the polar regions,15 so Iridium’s proposed global operations would extend GMDSS mobile satellite service, enhancing the Coast Guard’s situational awareness in those regions and facilitating 6 See Petition at 9-14; 47 CFR §§ 80.93, 80.102, 80.310, 80.335, 80.409, 80.905, 80.1069, 80.1077, 80.1085, 80.1087, 80.1089, 80.1091, 80.1093, 80.1101, 80.1105, 80.1123. 7 RTCM is a nonprofit organization that studies maritime issues. It is comprised of marine electronics manufacturers, government organizations such as the United States Coast Guard, and other parties interested in maritime operations. See http://www.rtcm.org/about.html#Members. 8 Petition at 6-7. See Petition of the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services for Rulemaking, RM- 11765 (filed Feb. 16, 2016), Attachment at 18. 9 Petition at 6-7. 10 Id. at 7. 11 Id. at 7-8. 12 See Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Seeks Comment on Iridium Communications Inc. Petition for Waiver to Permit Use of Iridium Service to Meet GMDSS Requirements, Public Notice, 34 FCC Rcd 9000 (WTB 2019). 13 47 CFR § 1.925(b)(3). 14 See Amendment of Parts 13 and 80 of the Commission’s Rules to implement the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) to improve the safety of life at sea, Notice of Proposed Making, 5 FCC Rcd 6212, 6213, para. 13 (1990) (GMDSS NPRM). 15 FCC Seeks Comment on Recommendations Approved by the Advisory Committee for the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference, Public Notice, 21 FCC Rcd 11349, 11423 (IB 2006). 2 Federal Communications Commission DA 19-1334 search and rescue efforts for vessels in distress in arctic waters.16 In addition to enhancing maritime safety, Iridium’s proposed GMDSS offering will, for the first time, provide the benefits of service provider competition to mariners subject to GMDSS requirements, which may result not only in lower compliance costs but also encourage new and innovative equipment functionalities.17 The Coast Guard “fully supports” Iridium’s request,18 and it notes that Iridium’s proposed GMDSS service has been fully vetted by the IMO, the IMSO, and technical advisory bodies.19 In view of the IMO’s recognition of Iridium as qualified to offer GMDSS service, we conclude that delaying implementation of Iridium’s GMDSS service would frustrate the GMDSS rules’ goal of enhancing maritime safety,20 and that grant of the request would be in the public interest. 7. We reject Inmarsat’s assertion that Iridium should not be permitted to offer vessels competitive GMDSS service until after a Commission rulemaking proceeding.21 Inmarsat claims that “GMDSS is a safety-of-life service, which means that it needs a stable, predictable regulatory framework that promotes accountability and reliability. The public interest concerns in favor of sustaining this safety service outweigh any timing-based or convenience-based considerations that might justify a waiver.”22 We conclude that Iridium does not seek waiver relief of such complexity that its introduction of GMDSS service risks disrupting our regulatory framework for maritime communications. The rules were written to permit vessels to obtain GMDSS mobile satellite service from every entity that was then authorized by IMO to provide such service. Grant of Iridium’s waiver request would maintain that state of affairs while the Commission considers RTCM’s rulemaking petition. As Iridium notes, precedent supports granting a waiver to permit the deployment of new safety equipment pending the resolution of a related rulemaking proceeding.23 8. We therefore waive the relevant part 80 rules to permit Iridium to provide GMDSS mobile satellite service and to permit vessels to carry GMDSS-approved Iridium ship earth stations in lieu of GMDSS-approved Inmarsat earth stations pending resolution of RTCM’s rulemaking petition,24 as follows: 16 Coast Guard Reply Comments at 3-4. As the Coast Guard notes, in these areas it is vital that mariners be able to reliably notify search and rescue personnel at the very onset of an emergency “because survival is measured in seconds under these extreme conditions.” Id. at 5. With the acceleration of commercial activity in the polar regions, addressing the safety needs of vessels that travel in these waters has increased importance. See, e.g., Arctic Council, Telecommunications Infrastructure in the Arctic: A Circumpolar Assessment 88 (2017), https://oaarchive.arctic- council.org/bitstream/handle/11374/1924/2017-04-28-ACS_Telecoms_REPORT_WEB- 2.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y. 17 Petition at 5. 18 Coast Guard Reply Comments at 1. 19 Id. at 5. 20 See GMDSS NPRM, 5 FCC Rcd at 6212, para. 1. 21 See Inmarsat Comments at 1-3.
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